Saturday, 22 September 2007

John Hughes side looks to win their first home game of the season as they entertain highflying Motherwell at Falkirk Stadium. With only a point gained from a draw against Hibernian in their last match, he will be aware that the home form will need to improve soon if Falkirk are not going to be scrambling for points to stave off relegation at the end of the season.

The frustrating thing for him is that his team have played well in periods in each of their games and have been competitive. Russell Latapy has played very well in attack and is involved in most of the good moves which originate from the middle. The Falkirk players must also be aware of their discipline in these tough times as dissent has cost them dear in their last match when they could have possibly taken the three points, had not Barr received two yellow cards, His last for throwing the ball away which was inexcusable and left the referee with no alternative.

Hughes and the fans who come to watch live Premiership football know that Falkirk are a better team than their position implies , but it is up to them to start and gain points instead of being praised for the way they play. Motherwell in comparison are flying high under new manager Mark McGhee and come into this match on the back of an away win at Aberdeen. Motherwell will attack for sure and will hope that Stephen Hughes in midfield can continue with his impressive performances in creating very good chances for the forwards.

In some respects Motherwell actually prefer to play away from home as their record is better than their home form, with 3 straight wins. Mark McGhee of course won’t be bothered with records for this live match as long as they pick up the three points on offer.

Gretna look to this their seventh game in the Scottish Premier League with the knowledge that this season is going to be a struggle all the way through to the very last game. Davie Irons and his players know that their will be no dream scenario of them lifting the title in the spring, indeed if they cannot improve on their results they may be looking at an early return to the first division.

With a record that shows three defeats in three home games the manager knows that something needs to change quickly, before the undoubted spirit by which the team plays by is slowly eroded and leaves the players demoralized for the fight ahead. Irons knows that he needs to play attacking football and so should start with McMenamin and Yantorno in the forward lineup, despite their lack of goal scoring.

The midfield have created chances in most of their games so far but their defence has been called into question on far too many occasions and this is where they really need to tighten up to give themselves any chance of taking points.

Whilst playing with two recognized strikers Irons may feel that the time is right to play much more defensively and halt his midfield from making too many forays into the oppositions half as far too often they are caught well behind the wall with little cover to stop teams counter attacking them.

Dundee will be a team who if allowed will take full advantage of any defensive lapses in this live football match. Craig Levein and his team are enjoying their third position in the table and can see a host of teams just behind them waiting for a slip up to take their place. With Robson, Robertson and Hunt all scoring regularly, Dundee will approach this match as three points up for the taking and on their present form Gretna may be able to do little to stop them.

It is strange how a few matches can make such a difference to a side and up to a few weeks ago Inverness would have thought they may have a reasonable chance of picking up their first points of the season after the terrible starts that both teams had. However after a string of good results Hearts are a different team, playing with confidence and creating goal scoring opportunities once again. With the Defeat of Rangers still fresh in their minds this fixture will be one the players will be relishing to continue their good run.

Stephen Frail has said for a while now that he could see improvements in the team and finally they have all come to fruition. With the goals being scored throughout the team this has taken the pressure off the strikers to show some consistency, however the one area they must have major concerns about is in their defence which at the present time is leaking goals at nearly two per game.

Craig Brewster having taken over the role of manager recently will be well aware of this and will look to exploit this fact. His team has created chances in their matches recently and striker Dennis Wyness has had the manager’s faith placed in him by being chosen to lead the attack in place of the player / manager.

Brewster may even feel that playing with three recognized strikers is an option although at this early stage in the season he may stay with the safe combination of Wyness and McDonald. Whatever the result of this live football match both teams know that they have a long way to go yet to achieve any position of safety and must win these games where they face teams in the lower reaches of the table as they themselves find themselves in.

Jim Jeffries and his Kilmarnock side will know the importance of this live football match even this early in the season. Having had many chances in their previous two matches without being rewarded, Kilmarnock finally took three points for the third time this season against a plucky Gretna side.

Kilmarnock will need to show the same resolve as they face a team in similar circumstances to the team they defeated at the weekend. Depending upon results elsewhere Jeffries could find his team in third position by the end of the afternoon, but for now he would be happy with a long run in any of the top six positions. Striker Ryan Jarvis played with new found confidence in the last match and will be hoping to add the pressure to an underperforming St Mirren side. With Colin Nish also playing well the attacking line up is eager to accept the quality passing of Rhian Dodds from the midfield.

The Kilmarnock attacking players will need to turn this new found confidence into goals as so far they have not scored the amount of goals which would see them stay at the top of the table. They need to carry on looking for second and third goals to ensure they finish off teams and guarantee themselves the three points before feeling confident in their performances.

Confidence is something which St Mirren are finding very hard to muster at the moment as they come into this match on the back of two defeat and an early exit from the CIS cup to lowly East Fife. Despite having won two games manager Gus Macpherson knows that a total of four goals so far is not good enough and will be looking to his strikers. With few striking options available to him can only pray for the return of Craig Dargo from injury although he is still a few weeks away from a return to full fitness. Until then he will need to rely on Billy Mehmet to take on the goal scoring duties.

Watch Hibernian v Celtic Live

Gordon Strachan will be a happy man once again as he leads his team into this match as table toppers following their thrashing of Inverness in the last match. The team sheet may change from the one that started against Inverness as they have the small matter of their first Champions League live football match midweek and will need to assess how the players come through that before naming the squad.

With the quality in reserve Strachan should have little problem in sending out a strong squad to play against a team holding 4^th in the league. Artur Boruc should retain the keeping duties all being well and the midfield will likely include Nakamura and Donati who have played well so far this season. With Vennegoor of Hesselink preferred up front Hibernian can be sure that they are in for a hard afternoon.

John Collins will take a positive fact into the live football match though and that is that they remain unbeaten this season and are not likely to lay down with the performances he has had from his players of late. Goals are being scored but are also being conceded as well and this is the one area which will give Collins concern. Those who come to watch premiership football live will see an entertaining match no doubt and a few goals will surely be forthcoming. One thing which may start to affect Celtic results is the amount of games they are now going to be involved in. How they perform in their midweek game may have a big bearing on what happens in this fixture only time will tell.

Watch Rangers v Aberdeen Live

Walter Smiths side at least have the benefit of a home game after their mid week Champions League fixture and depending how they progress in that fixture will effect the team that Smith decides to send out. After the disappointing result away to Hearts, Smith will be anxious to return to winning ways immediately and loose no further ground to their rivals for the title. He may however have to do this without his talisman Captain Barry Ferguson who has a knee injury. Whether Ferguson plays any part in the midweek match will probably determine if he is fit enough for this clash with Aberdeen.

Jimmy Calderwood will hope for a change of fortunes as his side look for another unlikely away win. Having seen European games after teams in the past Aberdeen’s manager will make his players aware that they have a distinct advantage and will be hoping they can take advantage.

Lee Miller should again be up front for Aberdeen as he looks to cement the position for himself; indeed he will receive no harder test to his quality than the trip to Glasgow. They will also benefit from not having their home support expressing their frustration at the team’s inability to play well. Aberdeen seem to be able to score at least one goal per game but the defence has been their big failing. If they are to pick up any points in this live football match with Rangers then the defence need to play well. If not they can expect to join the growing list of teams who have been totally overwhelmed by the Championship chasing side.